An annual herb, 25—90 cm tall, with a tough erect, subangular stem, sometimes prostrate and rooting at the nodes, repeatedly forked, appressed pilose. Leaves opposite, simple, elliptical to ovate, 1.5—12.5 cm x 0.5—9 cm, base cuneate, suddenly narrowed into the petiole and decurrent along it, apex acute, margins crenate-serrate, more or less hispidulous on both surfaces, distinctly triveined; petiole 0.5—5.5 cm long, the 2 opposite petioles connected by a small rim; stipules absent. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal head; involucral bracts 4—5, 2-seriate, narrowly oblong, outer ones about 9 mm long, acute, thinly white-hairy, finely glandular, pale green, inner ones about 7 mm long, subobtuse, glabrous, bracts clasping the flowers; peduncle absent or up to 4.5 cm long; heads 1(—7) per axil, 10—20-flowered, cylindrical when young, afterward campanulate, about 4 mm across. Ligulate flowers 3—8, accrescent during anthesis, about 4.5 mm long, very obtusely toothed, yellow; tubular flowers 6—10, 4 mm long, 4—5-lobed, yellow; anthers 4, connate, with an entire base and an obtuse top, blackish-brown; style-arms 2, long, pubescent, with acute, glabrous tips. Fruit an achene, of ligulate flowers oblong, 4—5.5 mm x 3 mm, dorsally flattened with a broad wing along the margins, with 5—9 acute erect-patent lobes, and 2 apical bristles, 2—2.5 mm long, the wings first black, later yellow, glabrous; achene of tubular flowers slender, narrowly wedge-shaped, 4—5 mm long, ribbed, often warty, with 2—3 bristles, 3—5 mm long, glabrous or with short hairs, black or dark-brown; pappus absent.

Laxative (infusion of young leaves); emmenagogue (plant)

PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation

Used as a poultice for sore legs and rheumatism, and applied as an embrocation for different oedemas (leaves); for the treatment of earache and mouth affections such as infected gums (leaf juice); chewed against diarrhoea, together with some other herbs (roots); for massaging dislocated bones (leaf sap); to treat haemorrhoids and diarrhoea (decoction of leaves); drunk as a cough-mixture (decoction of the pounded and cooked roots).